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<title>Let Me Prove That I'm Brave by Agent_Ravensong</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595436">Let Me Prove That I'm Brave</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent_Ravensong/pseuds/Agent_Ravensong'>Agent_Ravensong</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hilda (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Mid-Canon, Mother-Daughter Relationship, alfur and twig are mainly here for moral support, apparently the hilda &amp; her mum tag is not used enough for ao3 to autofill it so i am here to help, erik alberg also has dialogue here but neither i nor ao3 care enough to tag him like the rest, some light angst from hilda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:07:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595436</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent_Ravensong/pseuds/Agent_Ravensong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate, expanded ending to episode 1 of Season 2, meant to elucidate from Hilda's perspective why she starts lying and hiding her adventures from her mother.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hilda &amp; Johanna | Hilda's Mum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Let Me Prove That I'm Brave</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to my first published fic in a while, and my first fic in the Hilda fandom! Season 2 sure was something, wasn't it?<br/>This fic is basically me fleshing out some character stuff for Hilda and tying together some thematic threads from Season 2 that left me a bit unsatisfied as is. It's worth remembering going in that this is solely from Hilda's perspective, and she's a bit harsher to Johanna in her assumptions than I think is fair. Hopefully, they'll get to properly talk things out once [CANON SPOILERS] is taken care of...<br/>The title comes from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D8oUY6bkdA&amp;list=PLhPp-QAUKF_gGqdNsZdf4gc-SqfMpaCYJ&amp;index=18">the song "Turn Back"</a>, from one of my favorite games. A song I can very easily imagine Johanna singing to Hilda on some occasion.<br/>Let me know what you think in the comments - and, if you enjoy the fic, kudos are always appreciated!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Mum? I’m back!”<br/>
The door creaked eerily loud as Hilda entered the apartment. She stopped a few steps in, breath caught in her throat.<br/>
No reply.<br/>
Her hand fumbled for the switch beside the door. The lights flickered, then flooded the room.</p><p>Hilda had been fully expecting, when she returned, to see her mother crouched over her desk, either as absorbed in her work as she had been that morning, or slumped in a snoozing heap atop it.</p><p>Actually, strike that. Mum wouldn’t be able to fall asleep without seeing that her notoriously danger-prone daughter had made it home safe and sound, especially once the sun began to set. If anything, Hilda should have opened the door to find her pacing, gnawing her fingernails to the skin. When she’d see her child, she’d scoop her up and spin her around, smothering her in her warm, fuzzy, raspberry red sweater. Like when Hilda and Twig returned from their first venture together.</p><p>But, no. No one was home.</p><p>Except for Twig. He’d been curled up on the couch, but he promptly lept from the cushions, stretched, and ran up to Hilda, all barks and wagging tail. Hilda giggled as she coaxed him off her leg and gave him some good scritches. “Thanks for the welcome, boy.”</p><p>The deerfox spun around a few times before backing off. Hilda took off her boots and jacket, kicking the former against the wall and hurling the latter atop the hook above them.</p><p>While she did, she wondered to Alfur, “Did Mum say she had plans for today?”</p><p>“I don’t believe she did,” the elf drawled. “I’m sure she can’t be far, though. Perhaps she needed to meet with someone about a commission?”</p><p>“Hmmm, maybe…” Hilda rubbed her chin as she strolled further into the room. “Or, maybe, she’s taking the day off?” Her expression lit up. “Maybe she’s hanging out with some new fr-”</p><p>She cut herself off when she absentmindedly bumped into the dining table. Glancing down at it, she saw a haphazardly torn slip of paper, covered with her mother’s handwriting. She snatched it up and began reading aloud, her voice slowing the further she got.</p><p>
  <em>Hilda,<br/>
I got caught up in work today - one of those Safety Patrol folks called, they might have a new project for me - and almost forgot to go grocery shopping! Have to pick up food for the next week before it closes. I hope to be back before it gets too dark. Help yourself to leftovers in the fridge if I’m not.<br/>
Hope you had a great day!<br/>
Mum<br/>
PS - I gave Twig dinner before I left, no worries there :)</em>
</p><p>“Oh, Mum,” Hilda sighed. Work was the cause of it after all. Of course. That was just what she was like those days.</p><p>Then again, Mum had never been the social type.<br/>
Then again, neither was Hilda, before Trolberg. And hadn’t it been her mum who pushed her to make friends when they moved in?</p><p>“Adults are hypocrites,” she muttered.</p><p>Alfur piped up. “What was that, Hilda?”<br/>
“Nothing. Mum should be home soon, but before then…” She went to the fridge and opened it, then pulled out a glass dish half-covered by crinkled wax paper. A thin, sloppily sliced wedge of last night’s pie remained within. “Well,” she sighed, “no need to ask Tontu.”</p><p>
  <strong>⁂</strong>
</p><p>Hilda polished off her plate in just a few minutes. Full enough, she plopped onto the couch, her gelatin bones sinking into it as if being sucked into Nowhere Space. Part of her wanted to go straight to bed, but she wasn’t confident she’d be able to. The apartment felt too big, too cold, too… unfamiliar, without her mum there. And certainly too quiet, without the scratching of her pen, tapping of her fingers, and drowsy mumbling of ideas.</p><p>“Do you mind if I turn on the TV?” The girl asked Alfur.<br/>
“Not at all!” He replied. He was sat on the armrest, his notes from the day spread out before him.</p><p>With a yawn, Hilda grabbed the remote and flicked the device on…only to be met by Erik Alburg’s smug mug. Some reporter babbled beside him, while a banner at the bottom of the screen read, “SPECIAL REPORT UPCOMING”. Alberg just stood there, though the twitchiness of his expression and repeated rolling back of his shoulders indicated he was ready to jump in with a ‘contribution’ at any moment. His free arm alternated between cradling his cast and extending toward the reporter’s microphone.</p><p>Ever curious, Hilda began upping the volume.<br/>
“Oh, hold up,” Alfur (thankfully) interrupted. “I think I hear someone coming up the stairs~”</p><p>Hilda paused. Sure enough, she heard echoes of hurried but burdened footsteps from the hall, growing closer. With a sudden burst of energy, she sprung from the sofa, skid over to the door, and flung it open. “Mum!”</p><p>“Hilda! I- oh, almost dropped that. Could you take one of these, dear?”<br/>
Mum lowered one of the two paper bags she was holding from the bottom, revealing her drooping but warm as ever face. Her hair was slightly frizzy, and the bags under her eyes were darker than usual.</p><p>Hilda jumped up to peck a kiss on her cheek, then wrapped both arms around the overflowing bag. She struggled under its weight for a minute before plopping it down on the counter.</p><p>“You saw my note, right, sweetie?” Mum asked, dropping off her bag beside hers.<br/>
Hilda confirmed with a nod. “So much happened today, Mum! I-”</p><p>“And I can’t wait to hear all about it, as soon as we get everything inside. I still have some bags in the car, if you aren’t too tired to help bring them up.”<br/>
“Of course I’m not! I never get tired.”</p><p>Mum laughed from the doorway. “That’s my Hilda.”</p><p>
  <strong>⁂</strong>
</p><p>“It was very eventful,” Hilda began. She had speed-changed into her Woff-patterned pajamas while Mum emptied the grocery bags. “I got to ride in a blimp!” She brushed aside some strands of teal blue hair that she’d failed to tie up in her bun. “And then we went around town for a bit, asking people about bells; not as fun.”</p><p>“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t <em>any</em> fun, I hope,” Mum interjected, back facing Hilda as she packed the last few items into the fridge. “Did you meet anyone new?”</p><p>Hilda almost let out a huff of disappointment, but she caught herself. “I guess I did,” she divulged. “Some sailors at the peer; the town bell keeper-”</p><p>A burst of canned laughter yanked her gaze back to the TV screen, where the reporter was guffawing over something Alberg said. His chest was puffed out with pride, and he bore a grin so cheesy, it was molding.</p><p>Hilda’s eyebrows furrowed. “Do you know anything about him?”<br/>
Mum took a moment to respond. “The bell keeper?”<br/>
“No, Mum,” Hilda scoffed. She tugged her sleeve so that she would turn to see the broadcast. “Alberg. Erik Alberg.”</p><p>“Oh, I see.” She rubbed some sleep from her eyes. “Afraid not, then. I never met him before today, as far as I can recall.”<br/>
She went over to the sofa and peered closer at the image for confirmation. It only took a few seconds of watching and listening for disgust to blossom on her face. “Yes, I’m quite sure-”</p><p>Then she took in a sharp inhale, and her head spun back around. “Wait, is he saying - did you go outside the wall?”</p><p>“Yes,” Hilda admitted, “but it wasn’t that big a deal. It shouldn’t have been. We Sparrow Scouts do it-”</p><p>But Alberg spoke over her. <em>“And after I saved that hapless chap from the trolls, I made sure to return his poor pig.”</em>  He made sweeping gestures with his free arm as he rambled. <em>“We- I found it in a great hole, which, it turns out, is part of a hidden network of tunnels, that lead all the way back to Trolberg, going under the wall!”</em> His eyes were comically wide, and they shifted constantly as if scanning for intruders.<br/>
He was a terrible actor.<br/>
<em>“Can you imagine if the Trolls were to utilize these for purposes other than pig-napping?”</em></p><p>The reporter gave a much more restrained response. Meanwhile, Mum turned all the way around, and her shrunken pupils and taut expression bore down on her daughter. “Hilda…” She sounded more exasperated than anything. “Did you fight a Troll? Another one?”</p><p>“More than one, actually,” Alfur corrected from the couch.<br/>
Both humans shot him a glare. He gave a shaky grin in response, then buried himself back in his report.</p><p>Mum beat Hilda to the punch. “Were you hurt?”<br/>
“No, I’m fine,” she insisted, fairly confident it was true. “It wasn’t really a fight anyway; we mostly hid and ran.” Her expression hardened. “They only attacked us because <strong>he</strong> kept provoking them.” She gestured to the screen. “He wanted a story! And now he’s lying about the whole thing! Those aren’t even Troll tunnels, they’re Vitra tunnels; trolls don’t-”</p><p><em>“But no need to fear, citizens,”</em> Alberg proclaimed, seizing the mic and holding it so close to his face that there was audible feedback. <em>“The Safety Patrol shall fill in each and every one of those holes in the coming weeks. No Trolls will be tunneling into our city on MY watch!”</em></p><p>Mum had a hand hugging the lower half of her face. Her gaze drifted between her child and the obvious conman.</p><p>“The truth,” Hilda grumbled, arms crossed, “is that today, on <em>his</em> watch, Alberg almost got himself eaten by a troll.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s not some brave hero; he’s just… stupid.”<br/>
“I can believe that,” Mum muttered.</p><p>Hilda glanced up at her and saw a pensive look on her face. A couple of seconds passed in silence. Then Mum exhaled and, with something like fear in her eyes, refocused her attention on Hilda. “Well, either way,” she said, conviction creeping back into her fatigued voice, “if this is what happens when you’re out there with the ‘Safety Patrol’, I’d rather you not go on any more expeditions with them.”<br/>
“Yeah, I don’t think I will. One was enough.”</p><p>Mum looked not just relieved, but, for an instant, surprised. “Oh. Good!” A bright smile flashed on her face as the tension fell from her shoulders. “I know you love your adventures, Hilda,” she said, kneeling to her daughter’s eye level, “but I’d rather not hear about them on the evening news.” A light, tired laugh escaped her. She put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Your safety is the most important thing in the world to me.”</p><p>She squeezed tight. Hilda winced (apparently not enough for her mum to notice). Not just because of the fingers digging into her shoulder; there was something about what her mum was saying that, irked her.</p><p>After a moment, it clicked.<br/>
For Mum, this was about more than just Alberg’s incompetence. It was about the idea of Hilda going on <em>any</em> adventures.<br/>
Because if trained members of the Safety Patrol couldn’t keep her completely out of harm’s way, what chance did Mum think she stood on her own?</p><p>“You understand, don’t you?”<br/>
Hilda blinked, then replied, with a poorly hidden pout, “I do.” Her eyes immediately darted to the floor; she hoped that would extinguish the flames sparking to life within them.</p><p>Again, Mum was seemingly too exhausted herself to pick up on any of it. Instead, she said, “I’m glad.” She smiled again, but this one was softer and smaller. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you came home. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”<br/>
“You didn’t,” Hilda assured her. She meant it, but traces of frustration remained in her tone.</p><p>“I’ll make you something special tomorrow to make up for it,” Mum pledged, ruffling Hilda’s hair. She let out a grunt as she rose back to her feet. “Thank you for staying up to help with these, by the way; but now, it’s time for you to get some rest.”<br/>
Hilda tried to object, but it morphed into a yawn as it left her throat. Mum chuckled, and Hilda knew she’d lost.</p><p>She rubbed her eyes, then went to the sofa and held out a hand for Alfur to climb aboard.<br/>
“I’ll come to tuck you in in a few minutes,” Mum promised as Hilda headed down the hall, Twig in tow. “I love you!”<br/>
“Love you too.”</p><p>“Don’t let Alburg get you down, Hilda,” Alfur said, now on her shoulder. “We elves pride ourselves on the accuracy of our historical records, so you can rest assured that my report will give a true accounting of today’s events, which shall be widely read among elfkind.”</p><p>Hilda gave him a halfhearted smile. “Well, at least a bunch of tiny invisible people will know the truth.”<br/>
“And your mum!”</p><p>The grin evaporated from the girl’s face. “But she doesn’t get it,” she huffed as she shut her bedroom door behind her. Her hands balled up into fists at her sides. “Everything would have been fine if Alberg wasn’t involved!” She began pacing, words spilling out, whispered but firey. “If it was just Ms. Gerwig and me… no, if it was just me, I could have handled it better! I know more about trolls than any of them - he basically said so! I have experience with all kinds of creatures they’ve never even seen!”</p><p>She stopped so Alfur could leap onto his doorstep.</p><p>“And even when I mess things up,” she continued after a deep breath, “at least <strong>I</strong> try to fix it! Like with the Tide Mice, or…”<br/>
The next thing that came to mind was… Frida’s missing book… but…</p><p>Not that there weren’t plenty more examples of blunders she’d made for her to choose from.</p><p>She shook the thought from her mind, then collapsed atop her mattress with a heavy exhale. “But Mum, ever since Jellybean - ever since we moved to town, really, she’s been treating me like I, like I’ve turned back into a baby!” She groaned, rolling on her side and hugging her knees to her chest. “She acts as if <em>adventuring</em> is the problem; or, that, I’m-”</p><p>Something in her forced her teeth down on her tongue, choking out the thought.</p><p>Twig jumped up on the bed and, with a soft whine, curled up beside her. She began stroking his fur on instinct.</p><p>“Hilda? Are you alright?”</p><p>For a moment, she thought it was her mum’s voice. Maybe she hoped it was. Maybe she hoped not.</p><p>“I’m okay, Alfur,” she sighed. “I’m just…”<br/>
Her eyes finally detached themselves from the wall, landing on the perfectly content deerfox.<br/>
“Homesick, that’s all.”</p><p>It wasn’t a fabrication. Hilda did miss getting to spend her days exploring the woods with Twig. Especially when she now spent so many hours of the week sitting at a tiny desk, staring at equations and long-winded prose on a chalkboard.</p><p>She missed getting to pick a direction and spend the whole day wandering into the unknown and back again. She missed not having anyone stand in the way of her escapades, telling her to turn back.<br/>
She missed when Mum reacted to her retellings of those escapades purely with excitement and pride.</p><p>The girl had come to see Trolberg as her home, but that didn’t mean it had changed who she was. If anything, its brand of magical, supernatural trials had only made her a better adventurer.<br/>
So why did her mother now want to treat her like some city kid?<br/>
What happened to <em>“That’s my Hilda”</em>?</p><p>Alfur spoke up again. “Are you <em>sure</em> you’re alright? I-”<br/>
“Yeah,” she yawned. “Just homesick. And tired.” More tired of adults than from the actual events of the day, but it somehow left her just as drained.<br/>
Though, it was genuinely rejuvenating to remember that she had friends like Alfur, whom she could be herself around, without judgment or coddling.</p><p>“Well, I do agree with Mum that you should get some sleep,” the elf said as Hilda uprighted herself and reordered her pillows.<br/>
“I will, I will.” She held out her feet (far from her nose), grabbed and yanked off one fuzzy sock at a time, then flung both to the floor. “So I’ll be all ready for an even better adventure tomorrow! Without any dumb adults to ruin things!”<br/>
“Right,” Alfur chuckled nervously.</p><p>Hilda glared at him, half-seriously. “Come on, Alfur. We’re not gonna let Mum stop us from having a good time!”<br/>
And if that meant not letting her know what they got up to…<br/>
Honestly, it might be for the best. Mom could have her life, stress-free, with her perfect doll of a daughter; and Hilda would have hers.</p><p>She turned and scooched on her knees up to her window. “She thinks I’m not ready for the world. But the truth is, the world isn’t ready for me.”</p><p>She pulled the window up just a sliver, letting wisps of crisp air in. Since there were just buildings and roads dead ahead, she turned her head upward. Her eyes were flooded with starlight - not nearly as much as back in the woods, but stars all the same.</p><p>“You here that, Trolberg?” She called out, quiet enough so no other human would hear. “I’m Hilda of the wilderness! I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere!” Her fingers dug into the windowsill, and an exuberant grin spread across her face. “I’m not gonna stop adventuring, no matter what anyone says! I’ll take on anything you have to throw at me! I’ll learn all your secrets!”<br/>
Her eyes narrowed. “Even you, Alberg!”</p><p>Something furry brushed against her side. She briefly glanced down and, upon having her suspicions confirmed, began petting Twig.</p><p>After a minute, she looked back to the window and gripped the bottom of the frame. But before sliding it shut, she whispered a final message:<br/>
“You haven’t seen the best of me yet, world; but you will. Just. You. Wait.”</p>
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